St James's Park: crocodiles and pelicans!

Once home to crocodiles...today, St James's Park's pelicans are the most exotic of the modern wildlife in the area. Soak up London's history in the oldest Royal park while you enjoy the magnificent flowers and take in the iconic views of Buckingham Palace and Whitehall from the famous Blue Bridge. Some 500 years ago, this marshy woodland was home to a leper colony and has morphed over the centuries through royal hunting grounds to the magnificent public park we see today.

King James I kept a menagerie here in the early 1600s including camels, crocodiles and an elephant. His many exotic birds were housed in aviaries along what is now known as Birdcage Walk. King Charles II used the park for games of "Pelle-Melle" (a mix of petanque and croquet) which gave its name to the ceremonial route that is the Mall. In 1664 the first pelicans arrived - a gift from the Russian ambassador and a colony of pelicans continue to live in the park. Free to roam, they can usually be spotted close to the lake or perched on Pelican Rock near Duck Island Cottage.